DDA restrained from taking over Escorts Hospital
New Delhi, October 7
The Delhi High Court today restrained the Delhi Development Authority for two weeks from taking over the physical possession of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre
at Okhla in South Delhi which had allegedly violated the clauses of agreement to extend free treatment to 25 percent of poor patients.

Man shoots daughter for marrying
outside caste
New Delhi, October 7
A man, angry with his daughter for marrying outside their caste, allegedly shot her dead in broad daylight in a
north-west Delhi area today. Rao Bhim Singh, who also shot at his son-in-law who
is battling for life in a local hospital, was arrested and his wife detained for
questioning, police said.

A month’s jail for GDA Vice-Chairman
Ghaziabad, October 7
The Ghaziabad District Consumer Court yesterday sentenced the Ghaziabad Development Authority Vice-Chairman, Dr D. P. Singh, to a month’s imprisonment for having earned contempt of court.

CEE scam: CBI arrests 3 more students
New Delhi, October 7
The CBI has arrested two IIT students and a Delhi College of Engineering student for their alleged involvement in the sensational Common Entrance Exam
scandal.

Blame game starts once again on SYL
canal issue
Faridabad, October 7
While it is still not known when the farmers of Haryana will start getting water from the SYL link canal, the issue remains one of the most sought after hunting ground for the state politicians to pull each others legs on the issue.

Stop wearing jewellery and be safe,
advise cops
Faridabad, October 7
Unable to contain the growing incidents of chain and purse snatching, the police seem to have taken a different take. They have now started asking women not to go out with gold and valuable jewellery in order to avoid such incidents.

Santoshi Mata Temple at Hari Nagar is lit up on the occasion of Navratra
on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Rajeev Tyagi

Gurgaon municipal council meeting cancelled amid pandemonium
Gurgaon, October 7
A general house meeting of the local municipal council was today called off indefinitely due to pandemonium and boycott by a group of the civic body’s elected members.
The development brings to fore a sharp fissure in the local unit of the ruling
Congress party in the state.

Allotment of GNIDA scheme cancelled
Greater Noida, October 7
The Greater Noida Authority, which had hogged media attention due
to cheating in the draw of exclusive high class residential scheme, has at last cancelled all plots which were allotted before the lid was blown off the manipulation.

Katara murder case: Vikas Yadav seeks bail
New Delhi, October 7
The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh police on a bail application filed by former Rajya Sabha MP D P Yadav’s son Vikas Yadav, who is in jail in connection with the Nitish Katara murder case.

Drug trafficker arrested
New Delhi, October 7
Delhi Police have arrested a person for his alleged involvement in drug peddling.
The police claimed to have recovered a huge quantity of opium and heroin
from his possession.

New Delhi, October 7
The Delhi High Court today restrained the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for two weeks from taking over the physical possession of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC) at Okhla in South Delhi which had allegedly violated the clauses of agreement to extend free treatment to 25 percent of poor patients.

Acting on an arbitration petition filed by the EHIRC, Justice Anil Kumar directed the DDA, the land owning authority, to maintain “status quo” and asked it not to take possession of the hospital which was built by the Escorts Group of Companies about 20 years back. Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Hospital, submitted that it was illegal on the part of the DDA to issue a notice to the hospital for allegedly not treating 25 percent poor patients free as per the clauses of the lease agreement after filing the reply a year back.

The Court issued notices to the DDA and other respondents and asked them to file their replies by November 21.

Mr Singhvi cited the judgement of the Supreme Court in the famous Indian Express land case and said the order of the DDA was contrary to the order of the apex court.

While issuing notice to the DDA, Justice Kumar on a petition filed by the EHIRC under the Arbitration Act said: “The respondent is directed not to recover physical possession of the premises from the petitioner in pursuant to the letter dated October 6, 2005 forfeiting lease of petitioner till the next date of hearing.”

Contending that the land which was sought to be recovered was a “nuzul land”, Mr Singhvi relied on the case of Express Newspapers Pvt Ltd and others vs Union of India where it was held that the possession could not be recovered without due process of law.

However, the court observed that parties seemed to be at variance as to what was “due process of law” and it required adjudication.

Mr Singhvi said the EHIRC had signed three lease agreements with the DDA for the 6.9 acres of land for setting up the heart centre in the Capital. And only in the 0.7 acre of land the agreement was arrived at for treating 25 percent of the patients free, claimed Mr Singhvi.

He submitted that if the DDA took over the hospital as per the order of cancellation of lease deed on Thursday, the patients under treatment would be suffer. However, the court refused to hear the writ petition filed by the EHIRC as the application did not accompany the original documents.

On September 30, the High Court had directed to maintain the status quo till further orders on the sale of the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre to the Fortis Group.

Justice Anil Kumar had said Mr Rajan Nanda of Escorts Group of companies should maintain status quo and should not transfer its ownership till the matter was decided in the court.

“There is prima facie evidence that some alleged violation has been perpetuated in the deal,” the Judge had said.

Fixing November 22 as the next date of hearing, the court had issued notices to Mr Nanda, Registrars of Societies at Delhi and Chandigarh and Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC), Ms Ritu Nanda and Director EHIRC G B Mathur to file their replies.

Mr Nanda’s estranged brother Anil Nanda, in a petition, alleged that the hospital was being sold violating all rules and regulations as it was established as a charitable institute. “Late H P Nanda, the founder of Escorts Group of Companies, had conceived the idea of setting up a charitable institute of world fame, to help the weaker sections of society and to create a medical infrastructure for the citizens of India. It is with this vision that EHIRC-Delhi was formed as a charitable society,” the petition filed by Counsel P K Bansal for Anil Nanda said.

Media reports had said that the Escorts, which was holding 80 per cent of the shares in the hospital, was seeking to divest its shareholding to Fortis Group for about Rs 600 crore, the petition said.

The petition sought the direction of the court for a permanent injunction from transferring the hospital to another private company.

New Delhi, October 7
A man, angry with his daughter for marrying outside their caste, allegedly shot her dead in broad daylight in a north-west Delhi area today.

Rao Bhim Singh, who also shot at his son-in-law who is battling for life in a local hospital, was arrested and his wife detained for questioning, police said.

Neelu (24) and Saranjit alias Raju (26) had eloped and married in a court on February 16 and were staying in Rohini area since then.

This morning, they called Singh near a multiplex in the area in a bid to reach a compromise. Some policemen also accompanied them. However, Singh allegedly tried to take his daughter with him after which an argument broke out between them. In a fit of rage, Singh allegedly whipped out a pistol and shot at Neelu once in the forehead and twice in the abdomen. She died on the spot.

Ghaziabad, October 7
The Ghaziabad District Consumer Court yesterday sentenced the Ghaziabad Development Authority Vice-Chairman, Dr D. P. Singh, to a month’s imprisonment for having earned contempt of court.

This punishment has been handed down to the GDA Vice-Chairman for his failure to allow the registration of an allottee’s flat as ordered by the forum.

Allottee Ashok Kumar had complained to the Consumer Forum that the GDA had allotted him flat no 306 in I-Block of Govind Puram Colony in 1989, but till date he had not been given physical possession of the flat. The allottee had also deposited 15 per cent interest as ordered by the forum. At this, the Consumer Court had announced its verdict in favour of the allottee for registration of the flat in June 2003. But the GDA has not done registration in his favour till date.

On September 2, 2005, the Consumer Forum had sent a show-cause notice to the GDA stating clearly why the GDA should not be punished for showing contempt of court. The GDA had been given time till September 24, 2005, to present its case.

The next date was fixed for October 5, but since the GDA did not bother to attend the consumer court even then the consumer court sentenced the GDA Vice-Chairman to one month’s imprisonment. GDA officials were tongue-tied and did not give any reaction or comment on a month’s sentence for their chief.

New Delhi, October 7
The CBI has arrested two IIT students and a Delhi College of Engineering student for their alleged involvement in the sensational Common Entrance Exam (CEE) scandal.

IITians Deepak Solanki, Pawan Kaura and DCE student Nehu Gullaiya were today produced before Special Judge Dinesh Dayal who granted them bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 20,000 each.

CBI alleges that the three had played a crucial role
in securing and solving the question paper of the Common Entrance Exam held this May for admission to the Delhi College of Engineering.

Kingpin Pankaj Dahiya and other accused had then allegedly sent the answers to 21 students through SMS.

Their alleged role was revealed during the interrogation of the students
who had indulged in malpractices.

Following a complaint by the DU Registrar and subsequent probe, CBI booked Pankaj Dahiya and other accused under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of IPC
and Prevention of Corruption Act for helping the students in lieu of Rs 4 lakh per candidate.

Faridabad, October 7
While it is still not known when the farmers of Haryana will start getting water from the SYL link canal, the issue remains one of the most sought after hunting ground for the state politicians to pull each others legs on the issue. The Congress party-ruled Chief Ministers’ conference starting at Chandigarh from tomorrow has also given another occasion to play the blame game on the matter.

Though it was expected from the opposition leaders of Haryana to raise the issue once again in view of the meeting of the Congress-ruled states, this has, however, irked the leaders of the ruling Congress party of Haryana, who have questioned the right of taking up the issue of some of the leaders. Congress party leader Ved Prakash Vidrohi in a statement today criticised the INLD leaders and especially the former Chief Minister for putting up a demand for taking up the issue of the SYL canal at the meeting. He claimed that first it was not a meeting of the Haryana and Punjab Chief Ministers, but it was a joint conference of all Congress- ruled states. Secondly, he said the issue had been pending with the Supreme Court and till the latter came out with any decision regarding the Punjab Government’s earlier decision of annulment of all water accords (pacts) the subject could not be taken up politically.

Reacting sharply to the reported statement of Mr Chautala on the matter, Mr Vidrohi claimed Mr Chautala had no moral right left to take up the issue as he himself did nothing to solve the matter during his tenure as Chief Minister. He alleged it was Mr Devi Lal (Mr Chautala’s father) who had opposed the Rajiv-Longowal Accord of 1985 on water distribution and other issues between Haryana and Punjab and had started an agitation against it. He also lambasted the Akali leaders of Punjab for creating a mess on the issue and alleged that though there had been personal friendship between Mr Chautala and Mr Badal the issue was ignored and both these parties kept giving altogether different statements on the SYL and preserved it only for ‘playing politics’.

Claiming that now since the INLD had lost miserably the
by-election to the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, where the INLD candidate got only 8 per cent of the votes, the INLD leaders were trying to gain attention of the public by raising such issues now. However, certain BJP leaders and activists have also demanded that such issues, including Haryana’s share of water, should be raised at such meetings and it was the duty of the ruling party to take advantage of such an occasion as both Haryana and Punjab had been the host of the conclave.

Faridabad, October 7
Unable to contain the growing incidents of chain and purse snatching, the police seem to have taken a different take. They have now started asking women not to go out with gold and valuable jewellery in order to avoid such incidents. There has been a spurt in crime against women, especially rape and abduction.

After a recent incident of snatching of the gold chain of a woman in Sector 3 here, the police station concerned got a public announcement done that the women should avoid wearing valuables, including gold chains and other jewellery, while moving from one place to another, especially when they were alone. This was perhaps the first time that the police had adopted such a method, though the police claim it was part of an awareness drive to check such incidents. A woman resident of Sector 3, identified as Shakuntala, became the latest victim of chain snatching when two motorcycle-borne youths came from behind and snatched the chain on Wednesday last. Ms Sangeeta Bhasin, a resident of Sector 9 here, who had also been a victim
of such an incident a few months ago, is one of those who have already decided not to wear any jewellery while going outside alone. Such incidents were still unabated.

“Though the police claim to have cracked several such cases the sense of insecurity was not over, claimed a woman resident here. She said the police should increase their presence at the possible trouble spots and ought to carry out a random check of the motorcycle borne youths
who normally violate traffic rules and move about suspiciously in the residential areas.

According to reports and statistics, there had been an average of two to three incidents of chain snatching in the district in a week. Besides these, the theft incidents of motorcycles and cars had also been rampant in the town, with an average of up to four to five incidents in a week.

As many as five motorcycles were reported to have been stolen in various incidents in the town in the past 48 hours.

The crime graph against women has also been sharp with several incidents of abduction, rape and murder in the past few months in the district.

Meanwhile, in another incident, a woman resident here, who is the widow of a policeman, has alleged the police had failed to take action against certain persons of her colony who harassed and intimidated her family, including her teenaged daughter.

Gurgaon, October 7
A general house meeting of the local municipal council was today called off indefinitely due to pandemonium and boycott by a group of the civic body’s elected members.

The development brings to fore a sharp fissure in the local unit of the ruling Congress party in the state. Those owing allegiance the Congress, which boycotted the meeting, were led by Mr Shashi Dua. Mr Dua, a Congress loyalist, was supported by some Independents.

The president of the municipal council, Mr Ravinder Kataria, is also a Congress leader. However, he is strongly supported by councillors owing allegiance to the INLD. Mr Dua enjoys the confidence of the local Congress MLA, Mr Dharamveer Gauba, who is affiliated to the camp headed by former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

The dissident group boycotted the meeting, charging that the civic body was functioning in a partial manner by discriminating against the wards represented by members not close to Mr Kataria. The members also alleged that removal of encroachments was done indiscriminately targeting the areas of members not enjoying the confidence of Mr Kataria.

Mr Kataria rubbished the charges, saying that so far the recently constituted civic body had initiated development projects only in the wards of dissidents. He said in Mr Dua’s ward eight development projects were in progress.

Mr Dua had lost to Mr Kataria in the election for the post of president of the Council. Mr Gauba had supported Mr Dua’s candidature. A number of Congress members had voted in favour of Mr Kataria along with those supported by the INLD.

The dissidents not only boycotted the meeting, but also raised slogans against Mr Kataria. Supporters of Mr Kataria also raised slogans in the complex of the civic body.

This was the second meeting of the council after it was constituted and the first one for conducting formal business of development works. Also, three nominated members were to be sworn at the meeting.

Greater Noida, October 7
The Greater Noida Authority, which had hogged media attention due
to cheating in the draw of exclusive high class residential scheme, has at last cancelled all plots which were allotted before the lid was blown off the manipulation.

The manual draw of the Greater Noida exclusive residential scheme was held on January 18 this year. The allotment of plots, measuring 1000 sq mt, was taken up first of all. When 37 applicants had been handed over their slips in the draw, a young property dealer was caught with a fake allotment slip of the Greater Noida Authority.

After this, all hell broke loose with people creating a big uproar and commotion at the venue of the draw with the result that the draw had to be cancelled. The next day, on January 19, the Greater Noida Authority again organised a draw for the same scheme in which slips were drawn by small schoolchildren.

But the 37 applicants who had been successful in getting a plot allotted to them on the previous day went to court against the Greater Noida Authority.

The court has put the onus of cancelling the plots on the Greater Noida Authority and the CEO and Chairman of GNIDA Rakesh Bahadur has cancelled the allotment of all these 37 plots on Thursday on the eve of his departure for a foreign jaunt.

New Delhi, October 7
The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh police on a bail application filed by former Rajya Sabha MP D P Yadav’s son Vikas Yadav, who is in jail in connection with the Nitish Katara murder case.

Justice R S Sodhi, who granted bail to Vikas’ cousin Vishal in the case yesterday, asked the police to file their reply by November 21, the next date of hearing. Prime accused Vikas has sought his release on bail on the ground that co-accused Vishal has already been enlarged on bail.

Justice Sodhi had ordered the release of Vishal on his furnishing a personal bond of Rs five lakh and two sureties of the same amount.

The court had asked him not to leave the country without prior permission of the trial court and not to contact or influence any witness, including his cousin sister Bharati Yadav.

The court had observed that the case was based on circumstantial evidence wherein the prosecution had already closed its evidence and there was no end of the trial in sight.

Katara, a business executive, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002 in Ghaziabad where he had gone to attend a marriage.

New Delhi, October 7
Delhi Police have arrested a person for his alleged involvement in drug peddling.

The police claimed to have recovered a huge quantity of opium and heroin from his possession. The accused has been identified as Raj Kumar alias Lala (45), a native of Panipat Haryana and another accused Mohammed Rafiq, a resident of Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Both were arrested in two different incidents.

In the first incident, the narcotics branch of Delhi Police got the information that the interstate drug peddler would come near Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar. A trap was laid and the informer pointed out one Maruti Zen car that was immediately intercepted. The police during search recovered 80 Kgs of opium from the car. The accused was arrested
subsequently. — TNS